From chef Michael Gaines (Manresa, Central Kitchen) to some early menu details, the column has a host of details on Kin Khao, which will be located within the Parc 55 Hotel, on the corner of Ellis and Mason where Smooth Thai currently sits. Smooth Thai is slated to close this week, and after a remodel, Techamuanvivit hopes to open Kin Khao later this year.

For her, the restaurant is a way to both share and preserve her Thai culture.

“I want to respect the integrity of what each dish is supposed to be. We can get into the authenticity of a Thai restaurant, but what does that mean?” she says. “I really just want to cook the food that is true to what I grew up eating, in a more 21st century way and working with ingredients we can get here.”

But given the Bangkok-born Techamuanvivit’s popularity as a blogger writer and food personality — she’s written a book, been a judge on Iron Chef, etc. — the question that many people might want to know is: Why now?

“I’ve been thinking about it for many years,” she says. “It’s been in the back of my mind that I want to cook Thai food, that I want to open a really good Thai restaurant — the kind of Thai restaurant that I want to eat at.”

That vision, she explains, would feature an approach to Thai food that is rare in the United States, and especially the Bay Area: curry made from the scratch, chile jams, sustainable and never-frozen seafood, dry-aged beef and really good local ingredients. In lieu of a 300-item list of dishes, the menu will be relatively small, with more than a few lesser-seen Thai dishes.

“Then much more recently, I decided I wanted to do it. Doing my own very tiny mini-production jam company gave me the confidence,” she says, pointing to the jam’s positive reception (including back-to-back Good Food Awards), almost like a validation.

And so, so she will pursue a restaurant of her own, though she’s bringing in industry veterans to compensate for her lack of experience. She’s partnering with Smooth Thai owner Chupot Janlaor (though the menu and everything else will be completely revamped), and in addition to the aforementioned Michael Gaines running the kitchen, the Bon Vivants will be brought in to formulate a cocktail list.

At this point, the plan is for Kin Khao to be open from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; early due date is November.